The Love of the Game
by dianesmalone
Summary: Sam decides to teach Diane how to play baseball. This is set during season two and includes lots of fluff


Diane sits in the stands behind the wired fence of the baseball field. She was watching Sam play baseball with a few old pals from his baseball days and Coach was out there doing his thing. Diane never understood Americans love for such barbaric sports. Though she had to admit, baseball wasn't as bad a football. She was glad Sam wasn't out there being tackled by big beefy guys.

When she sees Sam step out of the dugout with his baseball bat she smiles. Diane might not have liked baseball in the slightest, nor did she understand it but she'd be lying to herself if she said he didn't look incredibly sexy in his uniform.

The game wasn't anything like an actual game at the stadium but they were playing for a charity and that meant they got to wear uniforms. Every time Diane could, she snuck a glance at his cute butt. Those pants were just tight enough on him and it was the one thing that she liked about all of this.

The blonde steps down from the stands and walks over to the wired fence. She brings her hand up to it and calls out to her boyfriend, "hey fella with the cute butt, someone you know would like to wish you luck."

Sam practice swings come to a halt when he hears his girlfriends voice. Turning around, he smiles when he spots her behind the fence. He knew how much she despised sports but it meant a lot to him that she even considered coming out here to watch him play.

Sam puts his bat on his shoulder and waltzes over to her, chewing the fresh piece of juicy fruit gum he had just put in his mouth.

She gives him a smile when he comes over, "You look very sexy in that uniform Mr. Malone" she remarks, giving him a small smirk.

He smiles at that, "if you think this is sexy wait till you see what's underneath" he returns.

The blonde rolls her eyes and shakes her head while smiling. "Good luck out there Sam, please be careful okay?"

Sam nods and reassures her, "don't worry I was in the bigs I'll be fine sweetheart."

She nods at that, "alright alright, now go out there and hit one of those touch...down thingies" Diane replies, oblivious to the fact that she has used the wrong term for baseball.

He chuckles again and shakes his head, "Diane it's a home run, touchdown is for football" Sam corrects.

Diane nods not caring enough to actually remember that. "Right" she replies. Sam then turns to walk away and go up to the plate but Diane stops him, "oh Sam wait! One more thing!" She calls out.

That makes everyone on the field groan and complain. They were growing impatient since Sam's turn to bat had already started. He scrunches up his face at them and waves them off before walking back to his girlfriend.

"What is it sweetheart?" He asks, this needed to be quick before they threw him off the field.

Diane steps up on to her tip toes to reach him better and pushes herself against the fence, managing to press her lips on to his. The kiss is only a quick peck but when she pulls back she smiles wide. "Okay okay now go" She says and manages to push him away from the fence.

He smiles as he turns away, feeling a lot better than he was earlier. Today had been a good day but having Diane here to support him meant a lot. Her kiss made him feel sky high but in the best way possible. Now he wanted to win this for her too and make her proud.

By the end of the game Sam was last up to bat, Diane had taken breaks here and there to read her new novel but she mostly tried to pay attention. Now, all her attention was focused on him.

The scores were tied and if Sam could knock this one out of the park, his team would win. He would win the prize money for their charity. Not to mention it wouldn't hurt to have Diane be proud of him. It would definitely call for a celebration with her.

Diane cheers for Sam as he goes up to the plate, "Go Sammy!" She claps. She was now standing at the fence again, wanting to make sure she got a close watch of him winning the game.

He looks over to her and gives her one of those charming smiles of his, making her melt, before turning back to the pitcher.

Diane brings her hand up to the fence and grips it as she watches the baseball fly out of the pitchers hand and toward Sam. Her stomach was twisting and turning, knowing he could do this but she just needed to see it.

Not even a second had passed and Sam had swung, hitting the ball hard, sending it over the outfield players heads and out of the baseball diamond. With that he takes off in a sprint to the bases.

The whole crowd erupts into cheers, some chanting him to run faster while others clapped. Diane feels a rush in her as she watches and cheers him on, she was so incredibly proud of him for making that home run.

As soon as he returns to the home plate, the blonde pushes her way through the dugout and out to the field. It probably wasn't the best idea as she was in a skirt and heels but she didn't care if she got dirty. "You did it!" She exclaims happily and runs over to him.

He intercepts her in a large hug, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around. "Did you ever doubt me?" Sam questions with a smile as he brings her down.

"Well.. maybe for a second" Diane teases with a sly smile.

He chuckles at that and pulls her in for a kiss, this time it was not a short peck. Her hands come to his cheeks as his slip down the smooth curves of her sides to rest on her hips as he brought her closer. For a moment, the two of them forgot that they were still in public.

Though when she feels his tongue greet her mouth and his hand inch closer to her butt, she pulls back. Taking a second to catch her breath. "Easy tiger, we'll celebrate later. For now you go celebrate with your friends. Meet me at my place in an hour it'll give me time to slip into something more... flimsy" she winks as she brings her finger down to trace a few shapes along his sweaty chest.

Sam nods eagerly at that— his breathing beginning to heighten, "I'll be there" he assures and looks her up and down with a smirk.

Diane giggles and pushes him away, "go have fun I'll see you soon" she encourages and begins to walk back toward the stands again.

Sam watches as his girlfriend walks away and he smiles again, god he was incredibly lucky.

For the next hour, Sam spends time with his buddies celebrating their win. They were all drinking except him and Coach. He was happy nonetheless and proud that he could celebrate a win like this sober. This was a day he would certainly never forget.

When he arrives to Diane's apartment he knocks and hums to himself as he eagerly waits for her to open. He couldn't see what she had slipped into. He hoped it was that pink negligee, that one was probably his favorite.

Diane smiles as she hears him knock on her door. She steps out of her bedroom and strolls across her living room and toward the door. The blonde in fact was wearing the pink negligee he loved and her dainty pink heels that matched. Opening the door, she gives him a sly smirk "Hi" she says and pulls him into her apartment.

He looks her up and down as he steps in and smirks, "Mm hello to you too sweetheart" he returns. Sam then steps forward and presses his lips on hers in a warm kiss. Instead of staying still however, he gently presses at her hips and moves her backward toward her bedroom.

As the two move together, she begins to unbutton his uniform and pushes it off of his shoulders. He was doing the same, his hands still at her hips, pushing up the dress as the two stumble into her bedroom. With that, Sam pushes the door shut with his foot.

Later, the two were bundled up in her bed sheets. Diane's head was resting on his chest, close to his shoulder. She was laying on her right side as he laid on his back. Sam's arm was wrapped around her arm around her

shoulders and his other was resting off to the side. She was holding one of his legs between both of her small and slender ones and she bent them slightly.

Diane's free hand was tracing maps along his bare and hairy chest. "You know something?" She murmurs.

He glances down at her as he gently plays her blonde locks, "What?"

She looks up at him, "it was really fun watching you win the game but I still don't understand baseball" the blonde replies.

Sam quietly laughs at that, "you know what? Tomorrow I'll take you out to the diamond and show you how to at least hit one" he suggests.

"Oh Sam... I don't know. It was fun to watch but me? Diane Chambers playing a barbaric sport? I don't know about that, I think I'd rather go to an art gallery" she complains.

He groans at that, "all right how about this, if you let me teach you how to hit a baseball then... I'll let you take me to an art gallery" Sam compromises.

Diane nearly jumps up out of the bed to dance around happily but instead she pulls up from his embrace, bouncing happily in the bed and smiles wide. "Oh really Sam?!"

The brunette nods, "only if you agree to letting me teach you" he presses, making sure this deal was set the way he wanted.

"Yes yes yes!" She squeals with joy. Diane then leans down and presses a bunch of kisses to his lips. "Oh! There's so many things I can't wait to show you Sam! This is going to be a glorious day!" She exclaims. The opportunity had finally come for her to take him somewhere she truly loved and she was going to relish in every second of it.

Sam smiles as he watches how a bright light shines in her eyes, how excited she was to show this art gallery to him. He would never grow old of seeing that. Making her happy set off a fire inside of him that he had never felt for anyone, ever. What a fool in love he was.

As Diane's excitement finally simmers, she settles back into place with him and kisses his chest. "Goodnight Sam" she says happily.

He looks down at her and smiles once more, "goodnight Diane" he whispers in return.

Diane groans as she stares at herself in the full length mirror. She couldn't believe she had let him talk her into wearing jeans. Jeans of all things. She couldn't even remember the last time she wore them. She had on a navy blue shirt as well and that was a bit too big for her but did it even matter?

While Sam is in the bathroom fixing up his hair, she walks over to her wardrobe and open some of the doors to reveal some of his clothes. They weren't living together but it certainly felt like it. Some of his clothes were here and some of hers were at his place. They spent almost every night together, Diane found it hard to sleep without him now.

She reaches into the white wardrobe and pulls out a flannel. It was covered in different splotches of teal and pink, he hardly wore it so she didn't think he'd mind. Diane slides it on over the shirt she had on and leaves it unbuttoned.

Walking back to the mirror the fixes up the flannel and tightens her hair, which she had pulled up. The blonde stares at herself for a minute, nearly not recognizing herself. God the things she did for him.

Moments later Sam walks into her bedroom again and smiles at the sight of her. "Look at you!" He exclaims. He thought she looked adorable.

Diane looks over at him and glares, she hated how she looked and that he was encouraging such an outfit.

"What? Come on sweetheart you look beautiful" he says as he strides across the room and over to where she was standing.

"No I look atrocious and I just want to put on one of my dresses and pretend this never happened" she complains.

Sam slides his arms around her waist and rests his chin down on top of her head. He did it with ease since he was so tall and she was even shorter without her heels. He looks at her through the mirror, "Diane you look beautiful. Absolutely stunning" he says.

She smiles a little through the mirror at him then turns around in his arms to look up at him. She brings her small hand to his cheek, "what would I do without you?"

He smiles back at her and shrugs, "oh probably die" he teases.

Diane pushes at his chest and shakes her head, "come on let's get this over with so I can get out of these clothes" she insists.

As Diane walks over toward the door he notices the flannel she had on. "Is that my flannel?" He asks, another smile coming to his lips.

She stops at the doorway and looks down at the flannel she had on. It was way too big on her and reeked of his cologne but she actually didn't mind it for once. The blonde turns back to him and nods, "mm yeah I thought you wouldn't mind" she shrugs.

Sam chuckles, "I don't.. it looks better on you than it ever did me. Keep it" he suggests.

Diane could feel her heart swell at his suggestion and she nods. It meant a lot to her that he didn't mind if she kept his shirt. She loved how big it was on her, it was like he was holding her. It would certainly be a comfort for her when they were apart she already knew.

At the baseball field Sam takes out his bat and leads her out on to the field. "Okay so since you're right handed you'll stand on the left side" he says.

Diane nods and tries to get into the right position that she always saw him in. He helps her by showing her how to position her feet the right way. "Great! Okay now here's the bat."

She grabs the bat and from behind her, he brings his arms around and shows her how to hold the back correctly. Her hands were in the middle of the bar and his rested on either end of hers.

Sam then begins to show her how to swing, explaining how it all worked. Diane smiles as she swings and guides her through it. His presence behind her was extremely comforting. It was like she was capable of anything.

After a few more times of Sam showing her how to bat he pulls his arms away. To that she pouts but doesn't say anything. "You think you can handle hitting one of my pitches? Don't worry I'll be easy" he assures.

Diane considers for a second, she didn't exactly want to but it would be nice to see his reaction to her hitting the ball. "Okay okay but none of those incredibly fast pitches because I will run off this field" she demands.

Sam chuckles at that, "no worries it'll be a beginners pitch. I wouldn't do that to you sweetheart."

She nods at that and watches as he walks over toward the pitchers mound. Diane couldn't believe she was actually about to attempt hitting a baseball. What she would do to make Sam happy.

The tall brunettes stands on the mound and decides that instead of an over hand pitch, an underhand one would be best. He throws the ball toward her gently, making it easy for her to hit it.

Instead though she squeals and jumps out of the way of the ball, afraid that it was going to deck her in the face.

"Sweetheart, it's okay it's not going to hit you. I won't let that happen. Try again" he suggests as he walks up and grabs the ball.

To that, the blonde nods and gets into the position he had shown her again. She ignores any nerves she had and tries to focus more on hitting the ball this time.

As the baseball comes at her, instead of running away from it Diane swings the wooden bat. The swing comes just in time with the ball, hitting it toward Sam.

It wasn't a very powerful hit so Sam was able to easily reach up and catch the ball with his glove. It was still something though and he was very proud of her.

"Hey look at that! You did it!" He cheers and smiles as he walks over to her.

Diane pouts, "yeah but you caught it easily" she whines.

"Don't worry sweetheart one of these days you'll hit it over my head and out of the park" he assures.

Diane shakes her head at that, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. Now can we pleeeeaaaaseeee go back to my place so I can get out of these clothes? It's driving me bonkers" she begs.

He chuckles and takes the bat from her, sliding it back into his bag along with the ball and glove. Sam's arm then comes around her shoulders, "Okay sweetheart let's get back to your place then we can head on over to the bar" he agrees.

A wave of relief washes over her, she was glad to be done. Though she had to admit, she enjoyed doing this with Sam. Not the activity itself but spending time with him on something he loved. Letting him be the expertise. She found a new respect for him and only found herself loving him more.

"Okay but tomorrow I'm taking you to an art exhibit like you agreed" she replies. Diane knew that he probably would hate it but nonetheless she couldn't wait to show him all of her favorite pieces.

Sam agrees once more. He wasn't looking forward to the art exhibit but he would do anything to make her happy.

As the two sit in his car, holding hands as he drove off toward her place again Diane smiles as she looks out the window. She was madly in love with him and she knew that no matter what happened to them, she always would be.


End file.
